In 1924, the City of Brisbane Act was passed by the Queensland
Parliament, amalgamating the Cities of
Brisbane and
South Brisbane; the Towns of Hamilton,
Ithaca, Sandgate, Toowong, Windsor and Wynnum; and the Shires
of Balmoral,
Belmont, Coorparoo,
Enoggera, Kedron, Moggill, Sherwood, Stephens, Taringa,
Tingalpa, Toombul and Yeerongpilly to form the current City of
Greater Brisbane, now known simply as Brisbane City, in 1925. This
series of caches will celebrate these former local goverments and
their amalgamation.
Windsor Shire council was formed in 1886, and became a town in
1904. The
Windsor Shire Council Chambers were erected in 1896.
The Windsor Shire Council was formed in 1886 and initially
rented space for chambers and offices. In July 1895 the Council
decided to erect permanent chambers and engaged Thomas Coutts, a
Brisbane-born architect who also worked in Sydney, Melbourne and
Newcastle during the 1890s, to design a modest building. In October
1896 a contract for £584 ($1 168) was signed with builder William
Parsons. A separate contract for £80 ($160) was let for the
boundary wall, which was completed in December 1897.
The first meeting of the Windsor Council in the new premises was
conducted on 9 March 1897. The building housed the offices and
chambers of the Windsor Shire Council (Windsor Town Council from
1904) until the amalgamation of Greater Brisbane in 1925, when it
became the property of the Brisbane City Council.
Windsor War Memorial was unveiled on Anzac Day 1925 on the
former grounds of the Bowen Bridge State School, and overlooks the
former council chambers.
The cache itself is hidden not too far from the octagonal war
memorial, and the location provides a good view of the former
council chambers. Note the cryptic-looking lettering on the
chambers where SHIRE was overwritten with TOWN. There is also an
interesting sign nearby talking about the history of the site.
The cache also contains one of the four clues you will need to
find the final cache in this series, which will be listed when
enough of the series have been placed.
More information about Windsor history can be found by visiting
the Windsor
& Districts Historical Society at the former council
chambers on Sundays or Mondays 1300-1600.